spontaneous generation
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Origin of spontaneous generation
1Words Nearby spontaneous generation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use spontaneous generation in a sentence
Abiogenesis, ab-i-o-jen′es-is, n. the origination of living by not-living matter, spontaneous generation.
I submit the phenomenon of their strange origin to the scientific world as an instance of spontaneous generation.
Bizarre | Lawton MackallFor instance, one of his works contains a rather famous prescription to bring about the spontaneous generation of mice.
Catholic Churchmen in Science | James J. WalshOn that account I doubt if spontaneous generation takes place in our time.
The Wonders of Life | Ernst HaeckelThe old idea of spontaneous generation is now taken in many different senses.
British Dictionary definitions for spontaneous generation
a theory, widely held in the 19th century and earlier but now discredited, stating that living organisms could arise directly and rapidly from nonliving material: Also called: abiogenesis
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for spontaneous generation
The supposed development of living organisms from nonliving matter, as maggots from rotting meat. The theory of spontaneous generation for larger organisms was easily shown to be false, but the theory was not fully discredited until the mid-19th century with the demonstration of the existence and reproduction of microorganisms, most notably by Louis Pasteur. Also called abiogenesis
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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